


modify

by froggiecreeps



Category: Marble Hornets
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe, Canon Divergence, Everyone lives, M/M, Multi, Slow Burn, poly ships
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-20
Updated: 2020-10-23
Packaged: 2021-03-09 00:27:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,094
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27125180
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/froggiecreeps/pseuds/froggiecreeps
Relationships: Alex Kralie/Jay Merrick/Brian Thomas | Hoody/Timothy "Tim" Wright | Masky, polyhornets
Comments: 2
Kudos: 11





	1. foggy

It couldn’t just be over. No, Jay and Alex had an encounter like this before; there was no way it could have stopped there. Alex would show up any day now, and he and Tim would fight back. That’s how it should go. That’s how it would go.

Despite Jay repeating the phrase over and over in his head, he couldn’t convince himself. Something felt final about the situation, even if he couldn’t quite place it. He played it over in his head again. It was cold, dark, and it smelled like mildew and old books. Without the chance to react, he was staring down his former best friend, who had a loaded gun aimed directly at him. There was a shake in his hand and an unreadable glint in his eye. And then he was gone.

“Here,” Tim sounded from the doorway, snapping the other man out of his thoughts. He walked in, and placed a glass of water on the bedside table next to him.

He nodded timidly, “Right, thanks.”

They both went silent. Neither of them had said a word since Tim watched the tape capturing the event. As much as Jay hated the thought, he would even be more comfortable with his “friend’s” overprotective gushing than the heavy tension in the air. He desperately searched his mind for something to say, anything, when Tim finally broke the silence.

“I’m sorry, Jay,” His voice was heavy and serious, but the emotion behind it was unreadable.

“You’re… Sorry..?” Jay murmured, finally dragging his gaze up to meet his.

“For everything,” Tim worried, sitting down on the bed beside him. “I could’ve handled it better.”

Jay scowled at the thought, but didn’t say anything. He was much too shaken up to try to justify anything, or even agree with him. He wanted that tape back, just as some kind of confirmation that it had happened. It was all he could think about, but he wasn’t even sure if it was real. Strangely, he only remembered seeing Alex leave, then somehow he had ended up at Tim’s house, sitting on his bed facing the wall. Everything was fuzzy. Nothing in between, nothing before. Just then and now.

“I had a reason to do what I did,” Tim murmured, looking down at his feet, “But I just wanted to-” he paused, “You could’ve died, and it would’ve been my fault.”

Jay stared silently. He couldn’t remember what Tim was talking about. “Huh?” was all he managed, “Alex is my friend, he wouldn’t kill me.”

Tim looked up with a dumbfounded expression, “Wh- Jay, he shot you.”

Oh yeah. Maybe that’s why his side hurt so bad. “Oh, okay,” Jay nodded.

Tim looked down at the bandages around Jay’s midsection, feeling a sense of worry wash over him. “Hey,” He soothed, letting his voice drop to a thick, comforting tone, “It’s gonna be okay. You just need some rest, alright?”

“I’m not tired,” Jay shrugged, and tried to stand up. He let out a sudden yelp when the wound he had been ignoring shot a crippling pain through his body.  
“Jay!” Tim jumped, pulling his hands back defensively as he fell back onto him, “I don’t care if you’re tired or not, you can’t just walk off a gunshot wound!”

He faltered, not wanting to admit that he was wrong in both ways as he struggled to keep his heavy eyelids from shutting. “Tim, I have to find out what happened,” He protested.

“No you don’t,” he corrected, trying not to lose his patience with him. “We can do that later. But you’re hurt right now. And we- I need to focus on finding us somewhere where you can’t get hurt more. You need to rest.”

“I won’t get hurt,” Jay groaned, “Just give me the tape, you can go do your thing.”

“We’re not gonna do this again,” Tim said plainly, very obviously not open for negotiation.

“Tim.”

“Jay.”

“I want the tape.”

“No.”

“I need the tape.”

“No.”

“I’m gonna rest. I’m not even gonna move. I just wanna watch-”

“No.”

Jay scowled. Tim was so mean to him. He tried to move again, but he was held down by two heavy hands laid across his chest. He tilted his head back to look at him. “I’ll be sad if you don’t let me have the tape,” He tried.

Tim planted a small kiss on the top of his head, “I guess you’ll just have to be sad, then.”

“I’ll cry.”

“Then cry.”

He groaned and shifted in his arms, curling up into him. The initial shock from the pain was much worse than it was when he moved the second time, he supposed, because he only felt a sharp ache in his side. All he wanted was to remember what happened, but his mind started to drift away from that and from everything as Tim cupped his face, gently stroking his scratchy cheek with his thumb. He was saying something, but Jay couldn’t take in his words, only the deep, soothing tones. He finally let his eyes drift shut, and he clung onto his “friend” needily.

Tim slowly pulled away from him to slide his hands under his knees; hugging him to his chest, and shuffling back so that they both could lie down on the bed. He then protectively wrapped his arms around his midsection, careful not to put any pressure on his wound. “Please rest,” Jay was finally able to hear him say, which either way, got no response.


	2. visitor

Hours passed, and Tim still hadn’t slept. He hugged Jay tighter every few moments just to feel his heartbeat and hear his breathing. He had never gotten so close to death before, and he didn’t even seem to care. It was terrifying.

As much as he wanted to keep his mind on Jay, a heavy bumping noise sounded from somewhere in the house, managing to drag him out of his head. He tried to ignore it, nuzzling into the other man’s shoulder to try to take comfort in the warmth of the crook of his neck. Another bump.

He knew someone was out there; someone who wasn’t trying to stay concealed. Both Alex and that hooded person knew his house well enough to know every creaky step and noisy spot. He thought about staying, but he figured it would do much more harm than good considering whoever it was didn’t care whether Tim would’ve heard.

He reluctantly pulled his arms away from Jay, who wrinkled his nose and rolled over to lie on his back. The sight comforted him for a moment before he turned to face the door.

A cold chill creeped up into the air as Tim approached it and turned the handle. First, he peeked out. There was nobody to be seen at first, which he couldn’t decide whether it was a good or bad sign. He leaned over, patting his pockets for anything that could help him. He had a tape, Jay’s knife, his wallet, his cigarettes, and a lighter. Good to know. He plucked out the small knife and unsheathed the blade before safely tucking it into his waistband.

He quietly crept out from the hallway and into the living room. There was still no sign of anyone as far as he could see. The kitchen, the closet; every room he checked was empty. Maybe he was wrong, it wouldn’t have been the first time. But he also had to consider that whoever that person in the hoodie was could be really sneaky. Almost inhumanly so.

He decided the best thing to do would be to go back to his room. If they wanted him to notice them, they could come to him. He turned and gave one last cautious glance around the area before heading back into his room. Jay was still sleeping, but while he was gone he had curled up into a tight ball near the end of the bed. Tim silently wondered how it wasn’t painful. He made sure to lock the door before he climbed back into bed, gently pulling Jay back up into his arms. He groaned quietly, and Tim shushed him, delicately running his fingers through his hair.

They both relaxed, and lay in silence again. There was no way Tim was sleeping after that, but he let his mind wander. Jay didn’t seem to have known what happened, but he wasn’t sure he could give him the tape to find out. The whole thing was just strange, not unlike everything they had been through recently.

Jay had turned to see Alex, intently pointing a gun at him. His hand seemed to shake, and he aimed lower than he was before, shooting a bullet straight into his side. The camera glitched as Jay coughed, falling to his knees and dragging himself into the nearest room. There was a panicked muttering in the background as he struggled to take out his phone, dropping the camera to clutch his bloodied side. He was sure he saw another pair of legs before the camera cut off.

Tim had asked Jay about it, but all he could do was mutter “Can’t remember,” with a light shrug. He didn’t push him; if he was in the same situation he wouldn’t want to remember, even if he could. And he could only assume how tired he was. He couldn’t say anything up until the moment that he came home to Jay sitting on his bed, bandaged up and wondering the same thing as Tim: what happened?

He was suddenly snapped out of his doze when he heard a light clicking noise, along with a soft tap. He didn’t move, but dragged his gaze up to follow the person creeping out from his closet. Tim stayed silent as the hooded figure made their way across the room and tried the locked door, which they seemed to have been taken off guard by. He took the opportunity to draw himself back and jump on the person, pinning them against the wall and dragging them down to the ground.

They struggled for a long moment before they finally turned their gaze up to Tim. Their red-orange frown was barely noticeable in the dark of the bedroom, and the fabric of the mask drew back and forth as they panted for breath. Tim took the opportunity to maneuver himself forward and pin them down with his knees, reaching for the mask.

He let out a loud yelp that woke Jay up. “Tim?” He sat up slowly, struggling to take in his surroundings “What are you-” He stopped and dragged his gaze down to the person on the ground.

“They bite,” Tim grunted, trying for the mask again only to get snapped at like before. “Okay,” he sighed, “The mask stays on for now. Who are you.”

They stayed silent and turned their head to watch as Jay delicately climbed out of the bed.

“Answer me!” Tim threatened, pushing down on their wrists. He heard the other man wince quietly as he got down on his knees next to them. “Jay, search their pockets.”

Jay silently obliged, beginning to search the pockets of the squirming Hoodie. He pulled out a tape and a bottle of pills, and set them both aside. Tim looked at him, and he nodded in confirmation. The person huffed angrily.

Tim struggled with them, settling his gaze on his bedpost. He threw them over and pulled their sleeves over their hands to tie them down. They didn’t seem to be fighting it anymore, as they stretched out their legs and lolled their head against the bed frame.

Tim kicked himself back and stood to his feet, helping Jay up as well. He took a moment to catch his breath. “You’re..” He swallowed, “You’re making yourself out to be much dumber than you actually are, huh?” He hissed, picking up the bottle of pills and the tape. “You weren’t here for my pills, were you?”

Jay rocked uncomfortably as the shorter man turned his gaze to him. “Stay here, I’m gonna go.. Look..”

“Look?” He echoed.

“He must’ve left something- or took something.” He glared down at the person before walking out of the room.

Tim went straight to the living room and shuffled through his bag, pulling out Jay’s camera. He put in the tape that he had just collected, and pressed play. The screen glitched for a moment before a piece of paper displayed on the screen. 

“Alex Kralie’s   
MARBLE HORNETS   
Auditions Day 1/??  
11am - 7pm”


End file.
